


After Story: Desire

by Magnus_Prime



Category: Clannad
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26230456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magnus_Prime/pseuds/Magnus_Prime
Summary: Tomoya has graduated high school and works to balance his personal and professional lives as he helps his girlfriend Rie and her singing group start a career in music. (NOTE: This is a sequel to 'Delinquent and the Songbird, The: A Nishina Rie Route', which should be read first)
Relationships: Ichinose Kotomi/Original Character(s), Nishina Rie/Okazaki Tomoya
Kudos: 4
Collections: Clannad (no crossovers)





	1. Chapter 1

**Rie After Story: Desire  
** _a Tomoya/Rie fanwork_

**Chapter One: Passing the Test**

_“Next up is the all-girl group form Hikarizaka, The Angels of Japan!”_

As the audience roared, I quickly turned to the five girls gathered nearby. “You all ready?”

They all took a deep breath which broke into giggles at the sight of their simultaneous efforts. “As ready as we’ll ever be, Nii-san,” Amane replied, acting as the unofficial spokesman for the group.

“Then go get ‘em,” I said with a smile, lifting up my hand. As the girls passed by I gave each of them a high-five before stopping my girl just long enough to give her a peck on the forehead. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Tomoya,” Rie blushed as she reluctantly released my hand to follow the others onto the main stage.

From the side of the stage, just out of sight of the audience, I watched as Rie and the girls took their places at the marker set on the stage for the contestants. We had come to Tokyo for ‘Rising Stars’, where we hoped to win a contract for the group. I was anxious but not too worried; after all, the girls had breezed through the first two rounds, singing ‘Look in my Eyes’ at the first elimination round and ‘Maybe’ for the second. For the third, Rie really wanted to sing something inspirational, so I found ‘Whoever You Are’ by the Chantels, which didn’t surprise me considering how attuned the girls seemed to be to the works from the older doo-wop group.

I tried to settle my nerves as I watched Amane take the lead microphone; for this performance Rie had wanted to change the lead singer to show the judges the group’s flexibility, which had caused concern among the other girls as well as myself. In the end, Rie was in charge, and Amane was found to have the best voice for the song, and the proverbial die was cast.

“You’re not the normal lead singer, are you?” one of the judges asked, a woman I thought I recognized as an ‘idol’ from a few years ago.

“N-No, ma’am,” Amane replied as she gestured to Rie, who stood next to her. “Rie-chan is our official lead singer.”

“So why are you front-and-center this time?” another judge asked, a man who was clearly not Japanese if his pale skin color was any clue; his usage of the Japanese language was impressive, though, even if he did have a bit of an accent.

“We…decided that Amane’s voice would be the best one for the song we’ll be performing, sir,” Rie replied, almost apologetically.

“Hm.” A grunt was the only reply he gave in response to her explanation. I’d heard that he was a judge from a similar talent show from England and could be hard to impress. “Well, good luck, then.”

“Thank you very much,” Rie said as she briefly and gently rubbed Amane’s back with her fingertips before taking hold of her own microphone with both hands. She then nodded to someone at the other end of the stage, and the music began to play.

Their microphones went to their mouths, and:

 _Whoever you are, wherever you may be,  
_ _There's someone who really loves you,  
_ _Please wait and see, whoever you are.  
_ _Whoever you are (whoever you are),  
_ _Whoever you are (Whoever you are)…_

I wasn’t as big of a fan of ‘Whoever You Are’ as I was the other songs that the girls had sung – ‘Maybe’ in particular and for obvious reasons – but Amane still did an amazing job of bringing out the feelings of the song, the encouragement.

 _Dry those tears, there’s no need for crying.  
_ _I'm sure your lover will soon come to find you  
_ _Whoever you are, whoever you are._

Apparently the audience thought more highly of the tune than I did, because they were on their feet and cheering pretty much the whole length of the Angels’ performance, and it took nearly a full minute for them to calm down after the song was done.

“Well, it seems you have a bit of a following,” the English judge remarked in what sounded like a dry tone as he looked over his shoulder at the audience, drawing a round of chuckles. He then turned to the other three judges. “Your thoughts?”

“I really liked it,” the former idol immediately replied. “While I’m not sure that the song was the best choice for a final round…Sugisaka-san, was it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” our temporary lead singer replied, still sounding a bit winded.

“Your delivery was top-notch, Sugisaka-san. It really felt like you felt what you were singing. Did you? Did you really mean what you were singing?”

Amane turned to the other girls, who all smiled and nodded. “We all did, ma’am,” she replied, smiling as well.

“I liked it as well,” another judge said. He sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place his face; maybe he was a voice actor? I really needed to get more familiar with the big names if I was going to be the manager of Rie’s group. “I thought your voice was a perfect fit for this particular song, and I look forward to hearing you sing lead for other songs as well.”

“Thank you, sir,” Amane replied, her face positively glowing.

He shifted his gaze to Rie. “Understand that I’m not knocking your singing voice; it’s quite lovely.”

“I understand, sir,” Rie giggled. “Thank you very much.”

The third judge sat with her arms cross and a somewhat stern expression. “Honestly, I’m not sure what to think of this. I’m used to cookie-cutter J-Pop groups coming through here and singing what sounds like the same songs, but…” she waved a hand at my girls. “…Five Japanese girls singing songs from American music history?” She looked at the other judges. “Didn’t we have a group singing stuff like this win last time?”

“The Lords of Doo-Wop, yes,” the Englishman replied.

The stern judge waved a hand at the girls again. “Does Japan really need more of this…style?”

I watched as my Angels shifted uncomfortably and felt my blood start to boil.

“Okay Toni, I think you’ve made your point,” he replied in a tone as stern as her expression as he held up a hand. He then turned a serious gaze on Rie’s group. “Well, while I would have to agree that this particular song choice may not have been the best for this level of competition, as a whole I have been very impressed with what I have seen from the five of you. I have been pleased to watch you grow as performers, and I can’t imagine that it’s easy to not only learn a foreign language, but to sing in said language, and for that, all of you are to be commended.”

“Thank you, sir,” my girls replied in unison as the audience cheered and my anger subsided.

“And if you don’t win this,” he continued, a smile starting to spread, “I’d still like to give you a chance by signing you on my own personal label.”

I had to resist the urge to join the girls on stage as they held each other and squealed.

“Now, it’s my understanding that your manager is…Okazaki Tomoya-san?”

My blood froze, an interesting contrast to my earlier reaction.

“Yes, sir,” Rie replied.

“Is he here with you?”

My feet refused to move as the girls waved me over, but I somehow managed to join them on the stage.

“Well well well…” the Englishman mused when he saw me. “You’re the manager for The Lords of Doo-Wop, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, sir,” I managed to reply through fried nerves as Reiko held her microphone toward me.

“I must say; I’m impressed with your work with that group, as well as this one,” he said with a grin; he seemed to be enjoying my discomfort.

“Y-Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“Your groups seem to have a gift for this musical style; I would suggest that you encourage them to write some songs of their own, make the doo-wop style truly their own.”

I glanced at the Angels before replying. “I’ll k-keep that in mind, sir.”

We left that stage to the sounds of cheering, and I thought I saw the English judge wink at me just before the curtain obscured him from my view.

* * *

We were all more than a little nervous as we waited backstage while the votes were being counted. Though the judges decided who advanced through the early rounds, the final winner would be decided by an electronic vote by the members of the audience, those in attendance and at home.

I stood a short distance away as the girls talked amongst themselves in anxious tones. While I wanted to go over and reassure them, I had no idea what to say to them other than ‘You did your best’. I hadn’t been their manager for very long, so maybe I hadn’t learned the skills needed to help worried clients. I took a minute to think about how far they’d come in such a short amount of time, though.

As planned, the Theater Club and the Chorus Club worked on several musicals for the rest of what would be Furukawa’s last year at Hikarizaka. I smiled as I remembered the looks of amazement and pride on her parents’ faces as they watched her perform a musical based on a dream she’d told me about. Every girl in the Chorus Club had volunteered to provide the hauntingly beautiful choral tones that accompanied the snowy landscape that had been the setting for the play. Meanwhile, Kawahara and his group had started looking into ways to make money off their voices and found out about a talent show that would give them the opportunity to be heard and possibly signed on as a professional group. With Kotomi-chan’s financial support (and the permission of all of the boys’ parents) they made their way to the finals, ultimately winning a contract with a Japanese music producer as ‘The Lords of Doo-Wop’. Once word got back to the school, Reiko and Amane got fired up and managed to convince the other girls to try it as well. I had graduated by the time the next round had started, so I took on the job of being their manager.

My musings were interrupted by a young-looking man hurrying up to the assembled performers. “The judges will be announcing the winner soon,” he informed us. “Please stay together as you go out to the stage.”

The girls looked at me worriedly, Rie in particular, so I lifted my hand as I gave all of them a smile that would hopefully communicate my faith in them. As they left, however, one of them broke away to grab me by the hand. “P-Please come with us, Tomoya-san,” Nao nearly begged as she tugged on my arm. “You’ve done so much for us; you should be out there as well.”

“I-… Fine,” I sighed as I allowed myself to be dragged out to the stage with the girls. “But they might have to have me leave the stage.”

My resignation faded, however, as Rie took my other hand with a shy smile. “Thank you, Tomoya,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Eventually we were placed in our groups on the stage, and I looked around at the Angels of Japan’s competition: a dance team from Kyoto, a soloist from Nankoku, and a stage magician group from Kanazawa. All of them had been impressive, so I wasn’t sure how the Angels’ efforts would compare.

The energy level spiked as the announcer came onto the stage with a microphone and a small envelope. “Ladies and gentlemen, the votes are in and we have a winner.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I gave Rie’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“And the winner of the 2005 Rising Stars competition is…” He gave all of the performers a sly grin as he pulled a small slip from an envelope. “The Angels of Japan!”

The Angels immediately started screaming. “OH MY GOD, RIE!” Amane cried as she held her best friend. “WE DID IT! WE DID IT!!!” Everything was chaos, with Rie and the others jumping excitedly as the other performers came over to congratulate them and the audience roared.

I smiled and stepped back quietly to give the girls their space; they had worked hard and had been through a lot of stressful practices, so I wanted them to enjoy their time in the spotlight. As I backed away I came into contact with something behind me and looked over my shoulder to see that I’d accidentally bumped one of the curtains; fortunately, it looked like I hadn’t caused any damage or anything, so I-

“TOMOYA!”

I snapped my gaze back in time to see all of the Angels hurrying toward me, their faces nearly glowing. “What are you doing back here?!” Amane giggled.

“What do you mean?” I shouted over the din.

I saw Rie’s mouth move, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

“She’s saying you need to get up here with us!” Reiko told me. “We can’t party without you!”

“I-… Fine,” I sighed in a repeat of an earlier conversation before allowing myself to be dragged up to the front of the stage, where the girls resumed bouncing around in celebration, holding each other as well as me.

Helping the girls win felt good.

* * *

“That was intense,” Amane gasped as she and the others caught their breath in the dressing room.

“That was so exciting!” Kana exclaimed; it was interesting to hear her so animate, considering how reserved she typically was. “I thought my heart was going to burst out there.”

“Mine, too,” Nao agreed before lifting her shaking cup of tea to her mouth.

A knock sounded at the door, and I got up to open it. “Who is-?” I gasped at the faces just outside the door. “Yukio?!”

The lead singer for ‘The Lords of Doo-Wop’ smiled at me, with the other members of his group behind him. “Hey, Boss T,” he greeted, using the nickname that he and the other members had come up with. “We heard about the girls’ win and beelined it straight from our concert to congratulate them!”

I quickly checked my watch; their performance would have been over about half an hour ago. “Wow, I didn’t realize the time.” I leaned back just far enough to address the Angels. “You girls up for some company?”

“The boys?” Reiko chirped, having apparently heard the familiar voice. “Any time!”

I smiled and stepped back as I opened the door to let my other doo-wop group enter. Yukio and I exchanged fist-bumps as he entered, followed by Kenshi, Arata, and, finally, Hanzo.

A pleasant surprise followed the bass into the room. “Hello, Tomoya-kun.”

“Kotomi-chan…” I greeted with a warm smile, and we briefly exchanged a hug.

Before I could say any more, however, an excited Rie latched onto my childhood friend. “Onee-chan! Onee-chan!”

“H-Hello, Rie-chan,” Kotomi greeted awkwardly; some things never changed. “I-It is good to see you as well.”

“Come sit with us!” my girl chirped as she tugged her former senior over to a couch. “Oh my gosh!”

Things eventually calmed down, and Yukio raised his cup toward his female counterpart. “Congratulations, Angels; may you all find success and happiness in your upcoming career.”

“Hear, hear!” Hanzo bellowed, causing many of us to flinch. “Oh…sorry.”

“It is all right, Hanzo-kun,” Kotomi said reassuringly as she patted his arm. “One of the many things I appreciate about you is your enthusiasm.”

“But if you could dial back the enthusiasm a notch, I’d be grateful,” Reiko quipped with a lift of her cup, drawing a blush from the giant bass and chuckles from the rest of us.

I took a sip of my tea as I watched the Angels of Japan and The Lords of Doo-Wop talk amongst themselves as the members of the former worked on recovering from an exciting performance. I smiled to myself as I noticed that Reiko was making efforts to engage Arata in conversation; while I couldn’t hear what she was trying to talk with him about, I could see that the female baritone was quite outgoing while the male baritone was more reserved. I chuckled quietly as I also saw Kenshi trying to chat up Kana and Nao; the most outgoing guy and the two shyest girls. Nao must have caught me watching because she gave me a shy smile and a small wave, the latter of which I returned.

My observations were interrupted by another knock at the door. “I’m sorry, sir, but we’ll need you to clear out soon,” the gentleman on the other side told me. “Our cleaning crews need to get started. I can ask them to start with the other prep rooms, which will give you about another fifteen minutes, but…” he shrugged with an apologetic look.

“I understand,” I replied giving him an easy smile and a slight bow. “I apologize for any inconvenience we’ve caused.”

The gentleman smiled and bowed quickly before heading down the hall, and I closed the door and turned to the others. “We need to pack up,” I told everyone present. “The house needs to clean up, and we’ll be in their way in about fifteen.”

“Got it chief,” Reiko replied as she popped up from her seat. “Let’s clean up as much as we can to thank the cleaning crew for their hard work.”

We spent the next few minutes tidying up the place before heading out the door and down the hallway toward the side entrance to the building. “Hey, we should hang out at the hotel,” Yukio suggested as we stepped out into the chilly night air; fall was definitely letting us know that it wouldn’t be around much longer. “We’re staying at the same hotel, right?”

“Ah! That is true!” Kotomi confirmed as she snuggled her man’s arm, and I felt a pang of protectiveness, but nowhere near as bad as when the two of them had first gotten together. “Oh, but I have work tomorrow, so I cannot…’hang out’…for very long. In fact, my limousine will be picking me up at 2200.”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Rie lamented as she snuggled into my arm, helping chase away more of my lingering jealousy. “We haven’t been able to talk in a while.”

“We must exchange phone numbers, then,” Kotomi declared. “Let us do so once we are at our destination.”

Several of my partners exchanged grins with me at Kotomi’s choice of words; she had relaxed considerably since dating Hanzo, but she could still bowl us over with her education every so often. None of us meant any harm with our smiles; if anything, we felt more self-conscious of our limited vocabularies compared to hers. “Sounds like a plan,” I offered lamely, feeling the need to say something.

We chatted quietly for the rest of our trip to the hotel; well, as quietly as the Tokyo nightlife would allow. We arrived at the hotel and made our way over to the elevators and piled in; Kotomi had paid for rooms on the top floor, enough for each of the groups plus one for me. That she gave me a room to myself was humbling, to say the least.

“Keep the time in mind,” I warned everyone, temporarily shifting to my role as ‘manager’. “Drink water, get enough sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning.” I then smiled and nodded awkwardly to the sounds of ‘Got it, Chief!’ and ‘Got it, Boss T!’ from the Angels and the Lords respectively. “All right; have a good night.”

“W-Won’t you join us, Tomoya?” Nao offered. “We’re going to have food delivered and talk in the boys’ room.”

I opened my mouth but paused; I always enjoyed spending time with my friends, but the day had been pretty exciting. “Not this time, but thanks; after all this, I really need some quiet time.”

“Cool, boss,” Yukio said as he patted me on the shoulder. “See you in the morning, then.”

I waved as the others entered the room reserved for the guys. One of them stayed behind, of course. “Feeling a little overwhelmed, Tomoya?” Rie asked as she wrapped her arms around my middle.

“Yeah,” I sighed as I carefully rested my arms on her narrow shoulders before pulling her head to my chest. “Too much excitement for this Okazaki.”

I heard a muffled giggle before I felt her gently push away from me to look up into my eyes. “Thank you for all you’ve done for us.”

“Hey, you girls – well, and guys – did all the work yourselves,” I said, tapping her on the nose. “I just got you there.”

“That’s my point, you big silly,” she giggled as she snuggled into me again. “If you hadn’t worked as hard as you did, we wouldn’t have been able to do this in the first place.”

She had a point, and I admitted as such. “I’m just glad I could help.”

She giggled before pushing away yet again, and I recognized the look in her eyes as she looked up at me again, and I lowered my head, our eyes closing as our lips came together. I heard her whimper, and her tongue pushed at my lips, so I opened my mouth just enough for us to briefly caress each others’ mouths.

Her cheeks were pinked when she pulled away, and the world around us faded as we gazed into each others’ eyes, just as we had at the picnic what seemed like a lifetime ago. “I love you so much, Tomoya,” she whimpered, tears starting to form.

“I love you too, Rie,” I murmured, feeling that familiar yet still-glorious tightness in my chest.

“I…I really want to make love with you,” she breathed, her eyes half-lidded and her lips slightly parted; we’d talked about sex a few times during the course of our relationship and had agreed to honor my standard of ‘not before marriage’. That didn’t stop us from declaring our desire at times, though.

“Thank you,” I replied, using our agreed-upon acknowledgment. “I’d like that as well.”

She gave a happy sigh, her eyes opening fully again as she hopped up onto her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips. “Good night, my love.”

“Good night, Rie.” I was nowhere near as poetic as my singer-girlfriend, but I did my best. “I’ll dream about you.”

As she hurried to her room, squealing happily all the way, I chuckled to myself as I unlocked my room and headed in for a good night’s sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Apparently, Music Isn’t All About Music**

I shivered slightly as I entered the offices of ‘Go! Go! Idols!’. It was the company that Rie’s group would be signing with, and my job as their manager was to meet with their representative and go over the details of the contract.

I made my way across the thinly carpeted floor to what appeared to be the front desk. As I walked I saw framed photos lining the walls, all of them of various idol groups that the company presumably represented; some of them wore all bright colors – pinks and light blues – while other wore darker colors. One group, the ‘Cherry Bombs’, appeared to be trying to wear every color ever created, and my eyes widened as I tried to imagine the thought processes of anyone who would try to do that.

I finally arrived at the desk, where a young woman in a lot of makeup and at least four different colors in her hair sat poking at her phone. “Excuse me; I have an appointment.”

She flinched, nearly losing her grip on her phone; apparently the half-dozen or so meters that I had to walk to get to her desk hadn’t been enough of a warning. “Name?” she asked, not even looking at me as she put down her phone and moved a nearby keyboard to where she could better reach it.

“Okazaki Tomoya, ma’am.”

Her expression took on what appeared to be mild irritation before typing on her keyboard, and I wondered if my name had offended her in some way. “Okazaki…Tomoya… Ah! Here you are; you have a 10 AM with Hashimoto-san.” She quickly picked up the receiver from a nearby phone and pressed a couple of buttons on the base. “Heya, boss; this is Ichika at Reception? Fine, thanks. Hey, I have an Okazaki Tomoya here for a 10 AM appointment? Yeah.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other; based on her casual tone she seemed to be awfully familiar with her boss, not to mention that she seemed to have no problem being so casual with a client standing right in front of her. I started to wonder about the company’s level of professionalism, though I considered the possibility that it was just my lack of experience in the industry.

“Okay, I’ll send him up.” The receptionist hung up the phone, then pointed to a set of elevators on the wall to my right. “Just take the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. Once you get out, there’ll be a desk just outside to your right. Miharu’s there, and she’ll take you to Hashimoto-san’s office.”

“Got it, I said sending her a grateful smile as she finally looked up at me. “Thanks.”

Our eyes met and hers widened. “Whoa…”

“What is it?” I started to panic as I reached for my handkerchief. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Not unless you count absolutely gorgeous eyes,” she replied, her lips spreading into a catlike grin as she leaned forward onto her hands, her elbows resting on her desk.

“Ah…I see. Eh-heh heh…” I carefully made my way over to the elevator, making sure to keep her in my line-of-sight; oddly enough, I had started to feel like prey. “H-Have a good day.”

“You, too,” she replied while giving me an obvious once-over, grin still in place.

I repeatedly pressed the button for the elevator as I glanced back at her several times, only feeling safe once the doors had closed behind me.

* * *

“Okazaki-san…” Hashimoto Hiroshi greeted as he rose from his high-backed leather chair and bowed, a gesture which I quickly returned. “Welcome to our humble company. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding our offices.” He gestured to a pair of high-back chairs on the other side of his desk. “Please, sit.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied as I took the proffered seat. “No, I didn’t have any trouble at all.”

“Good, good…” he murmured as he reclaimed his seat. As he settled himself I took the brief opportunity to study him. He appeared to be in his late forties to early fifties, his hair mostly purple with a little bit of gray around the temples. The color looked natural, at least. “Now, before we begin,” he said, interrupting my studies, “is it true that you are the manager for ‘The Lords of Doo-Wop’?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied with a proud smile.

“So you’ve had some experience with contracts and the like?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent!” he exclaimed with a clap of his hands. “That’ll make this a lot easier, then.” He turned to a computer on his desk and typed something on the keyboard. “Then let me just…” A few seconds later, a printer on a nearby table started up, and he went over and collected the printout once it had finished. “This is the contract between your Angels and ‘Go! Go! Idols!',” he explained, handing me a small packet as he sat down again. “Go over that, and… I’m assuming that you can sign on their behalf?”

“Yes, sir.” I was starting to feel like a broken record, but the response was appropriate. “Could I take this to show the girls?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let company documents outside the building,” he replied with what sounded like a genuinely regretful expression and matching tone.

“Huh, that’s weird,” I grunted; the other company had let me take the packet to share with Yukio’s team. Different companies, different standards, it seemed. “All right, sorry for asking.” I looked up at him from the papers with a lopsided grin. “Even though I can sign for them, I like to be able to let them know what they might be getting themselves into, but I respect that you do things here the way you do.”

“I appreciate that,” he said with an easy smile. “You wouldn’t believe how much trouble I’ve been given in the past over that particular point.”

“Well, you won’t get any from me,” I replied as I returned my gaze to the packet and resumed scanning its contents. “Could I read it and tell them the key points and then return another time?”

I didn’t hear a reply, but I heard a _click_ and looked up to see him putting his desk phone receiver to his ear. “Daisuke? Hiroshi. Good, thanks. Listen, I have Okazaki Tomoya-san in front of me, and he-…yes, that’s the one. He’s asking permission to take one of our contract packets to show his girls.” His eyebrows jumped. “Seriously? Great, thanks. Saturday? All right, I’ll let him know.” He laughed and gave me a wink. “Yeah, see you after work.” He hung up and returned his attention to me. “All right, Okazaki-san; that was Tamura Daisuke from upper management, and he said that you can take that with you provided you return on Saturday, ideally with your group.”

I blinked, thoroughly surprised by the gesture. “Well, thank you very much, sir.”

“You’re welcome.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk as he fixed me with his gaze. “Understand that these documents are for your eyes only. Yours and the members of your Angels. Understood?”

I nodded emphatically. “Understood, sir; I won’t break your trust.”

“I figured,” he replied, waving a hand as he leaned back in his chair again. “I have a good eye for people, and you come across as very trustworthy.”

“Thank you, sir. Again.”

He leaned forward again, this time with an excited expression. “Now, let’s talk about your group’s image.”

“Image?”

“Now, I know what you’re thinking: Is this guy going to change everything about my girls, make them into something they’re not?”

The thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but I played along with it. “I take it you’re not, then?”

“Not at all!” he exclaimed, spreading his hands; considering his job, I suppose it made sense that he would be more the high-energy type. “Your girls have a great image, but it seems unfinished.”

“Unfin-?” I cut myself off as I realized what he was likely referring to; while the outfits that the Angels wore are the same color, they had been provided by each girl’s parents, so they didn’t necessarily have the same ‘look’. It had served us well so far, but now that Rie and the others would be in the proverbial big leagues… “I think I get it; they need better-coordinated outfits?”

“Exactly,” he replied, tapping a finger on the top of his desk. “And we’re willing to provide the appropriate outfits for your girls, dresses and the like – but they’ll have to reimburse the company since the outfits will be tailor-made.”

“M-Makes sense,” I stammered, initially surprised at the lengths the company would go to take care of its stars.

“So, how about this; you take that contract with you, talk to your girls, and then have them come back with you on Saturday for a fitting, among other things.”

I mulled over his idea; all else being equal, Rie and the girls and I could hop on a train after school and be at ‘Go! Go! Idols!’ in about an hour, but that would depend on getting the girls’ parents’ permission. Considering that we hadn’t had any trouble from them when it came to the talent show, though… “We should be able to do that, but I’ll need to make sure their parents will be okay with it.” I shrugged helplessly. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t have a cell phone myself; not in the budget, yet.”

“And you still managed to set ‘The Lords of Doo-Wop’ up for success?” he said incredulously. “That would take remarkable perseverance; very impressive, son.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied, repeating what had my latest mantra. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, though.”

“When do you think you could get back to me?”

I blinked in surprise but quickly recovered and thought about the rest of my day; after the meeting I would be heading to Hikarizaka High School to meet up with the Chorus Club, of which Rie and the other girls were still members. “Well, I’ll be seeing them about 4 PM at their club, so… Would 5 PM work? I’d need about an hour for them to call their parents and get permission. I could then use one of their phones to call here after that. Would that be okay?”

He appeared to mull this over as he glanced at the clock on his desk. “Considering the circumstances… I can work with that,” he finished with a brisk nod.

“I appreciate that, sir, thank you.”

“And to that end…” he said, rising to his feet. “We should see you off; you have a long day ahead of you, don’t you?”

“It seems that I do, yes sir,” I chuckled as I followed him to the door to his office, packet in hand. Once there, I bowed deeply. “Thank you for your time and patience. I look forward to working with you.”

“And I look forward to working with you and your girls as well,” he replied as he bowed in return. “Have a pleasant day, Okazaki-san, and it’s been a pleasure speaking with you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

* * *

After a successful evasion of a predatory receptionist followed by an uneventful train ride back to Hikarizaka, I tucked the packet into the inside pocket of my jacket as I started the long walk to my old high school. As I walked I thought about my last year of high school; meeting up with my childhood friend Kotomi after years apart, my chance meeting with Rie in the hallway as well as our unexpected meeting in the Chorus Club room, our blossoming relationship, my efforts to talk Kotomi down from a suicide attempt followed by her early relationship with Hanzo…

My feet must have been on auto-pilot, because I nearly collided with the partly-closed main gate to Hikarizaka High school, startling me; had I really arrived so soon? My brow furrowed as I quickly checked my watch. “No, that’s about the right amount of time…” I mused. “Then why did it seem like it was so long just from my house to the school?” Then it hit me: Going to school had been a drudgery for me, so something as simple as the walk to school would have seemed longer than it really was. “At least it’s all in the past now,” I sighed in relief as I stepped around the gate and onto the school grounds proper.

I headed to the office to check in with the staff. “Good afternoon, Himitsu-san,” I greeted the young woman behind the main desk.

She sighed with a light chuckle. “It’s ‘Himura’, Okazaki.” We then shared a smile at our usual exchange. “I take it you’re here to peep in on our girls?”

“Yup. Know the best places to hide?”

“Oh, you big silly,” she giggled with a playful whap to my arm; we’d had enough similar conversations in the past to have a mutual understanding. “All right, you’re checked in; go on ahead, Mr. Chorus Club Advisor.”

“Thanks,” I chuckled. “Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

I left the main building and headed over to the old school building. As I walked, I saw many familiar faces on their way to the last class of the day. “Okazaki-senpai!” several voices called out, and I waved at some of the members of the Chorus Club. “Gonna be there on time today, Abe-san?” I chided one in particular as he hurried up to me.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, sir,” the first-year replied along with an appropriate bow. “I was held up by my homeroom teacher.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I chuckled. “Just don’t make it a habit if you’re planning on going pro, okay?”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”

“See you later, then,” I chuckled, giving him a clap on the shoulder before devoting myself to the serious task of getting to the club room before everyone else.

As I approached the club room, however, I was surprised to hear voices coming from inside. Opening the door revealed several club members chatting or going over their music sheets. “What’s going on, guys?” I asked, shifting to my advisor role.

“We’re getting ready for the Fall Concert,” Rie said as she approached me from the side. “Have you forgotten?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” I replied truthfully. “Don’t you have one more class, though?”

“We received permission to skip class.”

“Ah. Got it.” I briefly looked around. “Is the rest of your group here?”

“They are, but first: Could I talk to you for a minute?” I gave a nod and she took me by the hand and led me back out of the room. Once in the hallway she wrapped her arms around me, pressing the side of her face to my chest. “I’ve missed you.”

Even though it had only been a day, I understood what she meant. Truth be told, I’d missed her as well. “I’m happy to see you, too,” I sighed with a smile, closing my eyes as I put my arms around her.

“I feel so empty when you’re not around,” she muffled into my chest. “I need a Tomoya fill-up.”

I chuckled lightly as I thought back on our time together. Ever since that day at the park I’d felt like Rie and I had become one in spirit, and I felt a sense of emptiness when she wasn’t around. “I need a Rie fill-up myself,” I easily admitted before angling my head to place a kiss on the top of her head.

She looked up, and I recognized her half-lidded expression, so I lowered my head until our lips touched once, twice, three times…

I felt her tongue against my lips but had to resist. “S-Sorry,” I said, my nerves tingling from her expression of passion. “We really shouldn’t risk lighting any fires on school grounds.”

She lightly growled in frustration but relented; it was interesting seeing this side of her. “Okay, but I’ll be following up on this later,” she huffed.

“Hey, I want to kiss you like that, too,” I said, lifting a hand to stroke her silky blue hair as she snuggled into me again. “But we’re still in the school’s jurisdiction. Anyway, yeah; we can both collect later.”

“Fine,” she huffed again, but her subsequent giggle told me that she wasn’t too irritated as she took my hand. “Let’s get back inside before they start looking for their club president and advisor.” As we headed back into the club room she asked, “Did you need all of us, then?”

“Yeah,” I replied, reaching into my jacket to pull out the contract; fortunately my jacket had been open for our snuggling session so it hadn’t become rumpled from her affection. “I got the contract from ‘Go! Go! Idols!’ but I wanted all five of you to go over it, maybe see if I’ve missed any potential problems.”

“I don’t see how we could help,” she replied with a cute winkle of her delicate nose, “but thank you for thinking of us.”

We re-entered the room to the sounds of The Lords of Doo-Wop warming up. Around them a huge group of girls sat, knelt, or lay on their stomachs with their faces cradled in their hands; how the latter expected to see the guys while laying like that was beyond me, but it also wasn’t my problem. “They doing something new?” I asked Rie.

“I don’t know,” she replied with a shake of her head as we joined the crowd. “No one said anything to me about it.”

“We’ve been working on a new song,” Yukio announced, and his words appeared to be directed mainly toward Rie and myself. “Is it cool if we try it here?”

Rie and I shared a blink, and I tried to not fall into her deep-blue eyes; I knew about that particular vulnerability of mine and tried to account for that in our interactions. “I don’t mind,” I told her; she was in charge, though, and had the final say. “In fact, I’d encourage it.”

She smiled before shifting her gaze to the leader of The Lords of Doo-Wop. “Go ahead, Yukio; we’re looking forward to it.”

He gave us a smile and a thumbs-up before checking with his group to see if they were ready. As he did, I noticed Kotomi sitting near her boyfriend; it appeared as though she was sitting as close as she could without drawing attention to herself. How Kotomi-like. “But how did she get the time off from work…?” I murmured to myself.

Yukio finished his survey of the troops before gesturing to Sato at the soundboard, who pressed a button. I smiled as a familiar tune started; it was one I had recently found and thought the quartet would enjoy.

Their admirers started to murmur excitedly as Yukio brought the microphone to his mouth:

 _“*Took a walk and passed your house  
_ _Late last night  
_ _All the shades were pulled and drawn  
_ _Way down tight  
_ _From within, a dim light cast  
_ _Two silhouettes on the shade  
_ _Oh, what a lovely couple they made…*”_

“I think his English is even better than before,” Rie half-whispered as she leaned into me.

“I’d hope so,” I quipped. “He and the boys have been doing this long enough.”

I felt more than heard her giggle as we returned our attention to the quartet.

 _“*Wondered why I'm not the guy  
_ _Whose silhouette's on the shade  
_ _I couldn't hide the tears in my eyes  
_ _Silhouettes (silhouettes)  
_ _Silhouettes (silhouettes)  
_ _Silhouettes (silhouettes)…*”_

The song ended, and the assembled girls started squealing happily as they hopped to their feet and started to swarm the boys, with poor Kotomi desperately trying to keep them away from Hanzo. I smiled with a shake of my head before looking over to see Rie shaking her head as well. “I’m glad they’re doing well,” I tried to tell her over the din. “I’ve found that the all-girl groups seem to be more popular overall.”

“They found their niche,” she replied, though I had to lip-read to be sure that I understood her. “And they’re really good at it.”

“I agree.”

Things finally settled down, and I approached the boys with a fist raised for a bump, which Yukio eagerly accepted. “Great job, gentlemen,” I told them. “You’ve already made ‘Silhouettes’ your own.”

“Thanks Boss T,” he replied, which was echoed by the other guys. “We wanted to make The Rays proud of us.”

“If any of them are still around, maybe they’ll hear us,” Kenshi suggested.

“That’d be awesome!” Hanzo declared with a fist pump, nearly lifting Kotomi off the ground with the motion as she was holding that arm. “Oh…s-sorry, Kotomi-chan.”

“I am unharmed,” she giggled. “You are very strong, are you not?”

The bass’ face went from normal to molten in an instant. “Oh, uh… Thank you.”

She said nothing, but I could see her give his arm an affectionate squeeze.

“Did you want to show us the contract now?” Rie asked, distracting me from my minor bout of jealousy.

“Yeah, the sooner the better,” I told her. “And I’d like it if the five of you could come with me to the company on Saturday.” At her puzzled expression I explained,” I can sign on your behalf, but the manager would like all of you there for a fitting.”

“A fitting?” She blinked, then her eyes widened. “Oh, for new outfits?”

“Yeah, that and ‘a few other things’,” I replied, emphasizing part of my earlier conversation. “Ideally, I’m supposed to call him this evening, so I’m hoping all of you could call your parents for permission.” I figured it wouldn’t be a problem since we’d received permission for them to attend the competition, but I still wanted to respect their authority.

She gave me a nod before heading into the mass of humanity to find her friends. It wasn’t long before she returned. “We should probably do this in another classroom,” she suggested, glancing over at the crowd.

“That‘s what I was thinking, too,” I agreed.”Why don’t we go to the library? It’s not too far away, and it’s quiet.”

“That’s a good idea,” Rie told us as she turned toward the crowd again. “Go on ahead; I’ll put Yukio in charge and join you shortly.”

“All right,” I replied before heading to the door with the rest of the Angels in tow.

“So what did you need us for?” Reiko asked as we walked down the hallway. “Rie said something about our contract and stuff, but I didn’t quite get it.”

I briefly told the girls what I had told Rie. “So I’m hoping you could call your parents so I can call Hashimoto-san and give him a reply before he leaves work for the day.”

The redheaded baritone scratched her head. “Well, I don’t get all of this,” she said, “but if you want it done, then I’ll do my best.”

“We all will,” a soft voice added, startling me with how close it was, and I snapped my gaze over to find Nao at my arm, nearly bumping it. “We all believe in you.”

“Th-Thanks,” I replied, still trying to recover from the surprise. “I-I have faith in all of you as well.”

We eventually arrived at the library, and as we entered the memories started to return, of meeting Kotomi and her sharing her lunch with me, of awkward exchanges about her preferred books…

…and of my eventual meeting with ‘Nishina’, leading to a relationship the likes of which I would have never thought possible for someone like me.

Rie arrived a couple of minutes later, and the girls gathered at one of the tables and started to read and talk. To give them the space to do what they needed I headed over to a bookcase and stared examining the titles. It didn’t stop me from glancing repeatedly at my girl, though; she was still incredibly beautiful, with deep blue eyes that threatened to pull me in every time our gazes met, and her long, dark-blue hair that waved hypnotically with every turn of her head. She had the perfect figure, too; not too much in any one place, though I noted with a slight smile that her chest was noticeably bigger than before. Maybe she’d grown more, or maybe she was wearing clothes that showed the ‘real Rie’.

My girl’s potential growth had me curious about her friends – but not for the same reason, of course.

Reiko was pretty much the same as she had been last year, though it appeared that the rough-and-tumble baritone had let her hair grow even longer, as it nearly touched the floor over the back of her chair. Amane was pretty much the same as before, though her expression seemed much more relaxed, likely because she’d finally gotten over Andou’s rejection. I made a mental note to ask if the situation had damaged their friendship. Later, of course. Much later.

I looked over at Kana, who had apparently found something funny in the packet if her rarely-seen open-mouthed laugh was any indication. I hadn’t really talked to her much, so I didn’t know a lot about her. Her disposition reminded me of Fujibayashi, though. Her hair color and length too, when I thought about it. She and Nao were the quiet ones of the group, which made it hard to gauge either one of them. At least I’d had some interactions with her, so it wasn’t like she was a complete unknown.

Which drew my attention to the last of the original three members of the Chorus Club. Apparently she’d gotten tired of being the shortest-haired girl in the group, because she’d been letting grow from its previous pixie-cut to shoulder-length style closer to Amane’s. I’d been curious about the change but could never bring myself to ask about it without worrying about sounding like a weirdo.

I’d started to consider asking Rie about it when Nao looked up and caught me watching them and gave me a little wave an d smile, and I remembered what Rie had told me about the shy soprano’s prior crush on me. I waved back as casually as I could before returning my attention to the books, though I found myself hoping that I hadn’t unintentionally thrown any fuel on that particular fire.

* * *

I pressed the button on Rie’s phone, ending the call with Hashimoto, and flopped back into my seat. “Whew! I was afraid I’d be too late!”

“Good job, Nii-san,” Amane said as I returned Rie’s phone. “That sounded stressful.”

“Hashimoto-san seems like a neat guy, but I still feel kinda on-edge when talking to people in his position,” I admitted as I massaged my temples with my fingertips.

“Well, thank you for everything you do for us,” Reiko said as Kana nodded her agreement. “I don’t think I could do anything like what you do.”

“I… Thank you.” I really wanted to downplay my role, but it was getting harder to do so without sounding rude. Trying to cover my mild embarrassment, I looked over at my girlfriend. “Your parents are expecting me at six, right?”

“That’s right,” she confirmed with a smile. “Everyone’s looking forward to seeing you again.”

“You’ve been to her house already?” Nao asked, drawing my attention.

“A couple of times,” I replied as we all got to our feet and started toward the library doors. “I had dinner with them about…a couple of weeks ago?” I looked over a Rie as I slid the door open. “It was the week before last, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was,” she replied. “And the first time you came over was when you walked me home after our first club picnic.”

“Club pic-... Oh. Yeah,” I mumbled, feeling my face heat up as I remembered what had happened just before the picnic; my self-imposed isolation after Rie’s humming had brought back old memories of my mother. Other than the Angels, all the rest of the club members knew was that I’d been dealing with some personal issues. “Her brother’s pretty cool.”

“He really looks up to you,” Rie said as we headed down the hall toward the nearest exit. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but Ritsu has said that he wants to be in the Chorus Club when he comes here, and it’s because of your hard work.”

“No, I don’t think you’ve told me that before,” I said, then cleared my throat to cover my awkwardness as the girls all looked at me with smiles. “Just…glad I could help.”

We parted ways at the end of the walkway at the bottom of the hill, and Rie and I started toward her house. “Do we need to stop by your place?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Dad already knows that I’m having dinner with you, so he knows I won’t be home until later,” I told her. “If I could use your phone when we get there, though, I’d appreciate it.”

“That should be fine,” she replied, then giggled. “I’m so glad to hear you call him ‘Dad’.”

I sighed noisily between my lips. “Yeah, me too,” I replied, and I meant it; Dad and I had fought for years before the accident, then acted like strangers after that, but with Rie’s encouragement – and the discovery of my memories – he and I had started to get closer again, more the way I understood a father and son should be. “I think it’ll be a while before we’re…well, close again, but…” I trailed off, unsure of how to finish my thought.

“In any case, I’m happy for you,” she said as she snuggled my arm. “Both of you.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, starting to become uncomfortable with the topic.

She giggled but otherwise walked quietly with me the rest of the way to her house.

* * *

“I’m home,” she called as we entered…well, her home.

“Welcome home, sweetie,” a gentle voice replied, and a moment later her mother appeared. I was always amazed at the resemblance between my girlfriend and her mom; except for a few barely-visible lines around the eyes, Nishina Sachi looked more like an older sister than the mother of a seventeen-year-old. “Is your-Oh! Good afternoon, Okazaki-san!”

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” I greeted with a bow. “How’s your day been?”

“So-so,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “Shigeru called and said he’d be a little late but to go ahead and start dinner without him since we have a guest.”

“Is everything okay, Mom?” Rie asked as she straightened from switching her footwear.

“Everything’s fine, from what I could tell,” Mom Nishina replied with another wave of her hand. “Something came up with one of his subordinates, and he had to stay to pick up the pieces; he said he should be home by six-thirty.”

“That’s good.”

“Would it be possible to wait for him?” I asked, raising my hand before I could stop myself. “I’d hate for him to be left out, coming in the middle – or even the end – of dinner.”

Mom smiled. “Yes, we can do that, and thank you for asking.”

For the next forty-five minutes I played video games with Rie’s younger brother after he somehow managed to drag me to his room. Eventually, I was saved by the sound of the front door opening. “Ah! Dad’s home!” Ritsu yelled, pausing the game before hopping to his feet to streak from the room, leaving me blinking somewhat stupidly at a pause menu. I silently shrugged before getting up as well and heading in the direction of the front door; fortunately I’d been able to memorize the layout of the Nishina household well enough to follow the hyper middle-schooler. Ritsu was a neat kid, if a little on the immature side for his age.

“Ah, Okazaki-san,” Dad Nishina greeted when he saw me. “Good to see you again. Sorry to come in so late.”

“Please don’t worry about it,” I replied with a polite bow, drawing on my meager diplomatic skills as a business manager. “I may not have the experience that you have, but I do understand that things can go awry at times.”

He glanced up at me in surprise from swapping out his shoes, and clapped me on the shoulder when he had finished. “I see you’ve taken well to the world of business; well done, son.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Dinner’s ready and on the table,” Mom announced from a nearby doorway leading to the dining room.

One hand-wash later, I sat around the table with Rie and her family. _“Itadakimasu.”_

“So, how did things go with the talent company?” Dad asked as we started to fill out plates.

I briefly remembered my interactions with the somewhat eccentric receptionist. “It was…different.”

“I’ll bet!” he laughed. “I’ll admit that I haven’t met many artistic types, but the ones I have met seem odd. Present company excluded, of course,” he quickly added with a glance as his daughter, who simply giggled.

“Speaking of the talent company…” I said as I worked on picking up a bite with my chopsticks, “…thank you for letting Rie come on Saturday.”

“Oh hey, you’re welcome!” he said as he smiled over at me. “Anything to help my little girl succeed.”

“Will the others be going as well?” Mom asked.

“Yup!” my girl chirped. “It’s going to be so exciting! Going on the train together and having lunch and meeting with their representative…” She let out a tiny squeal. “I can’t wait!”

“Just make sure you don’t have my daughter out too late,” Dad admonished with a small smile. “Or any of the other dads’ daughters, for that matter.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied with a smile of my own.

“So, are you enjoying your work?” Mom asked as she passed the vegetable mix to me.

“I think so,” I replied. At her puzzled look I added, “This whole experience has been new to me; honestly, I think if Koumura-sensei hadn’t pushed me the way he did last year I probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“And I’m glad you didn’t give up,” Rie added with a shy smile before taking a bite.

“Me, too,” I said, briefly allowing myself to become lost in her eyes.

A quiet clearing of a throat pulled me out, though. “So, you have The Lords of Doo-Wop and the Angels of Japan,” Dad said with a knowing smile. “Any more upcoming groups? Or soloists, even?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” I replied.

“That reminds me, Tomoya,” Rie jumped in, looking to me with eager eyes. “There’s a quartet of first-years who would like to try a different style of music.”

“You mean there are styles of music other than doo-wop?” Dad gasped in mock surprise.

“Dad…” she giggled.

“Sorry, sorry…”

“They found a song that sounds like doo-wop in that they use harmonies, but it’s…” she trailed off, then quickly turned to Mom. “May I be excused for a minute? I’d like to check something really quickly.”

“Go right ahead,” Mom replied with a twinkle in her eye.

“Please excuse me.” With that, Rie hurried from the table and out of the dining room.

“Nee-san sounds excited about it…whatever it is,” Ritsu grunted through a mouthful of food.

“Manners, son,” Dad warned, leveling his gaze at his younger child.

“Sorry, Dad.”

Rie returned a minute later with a small slip of paper. “It’s another American group called ‘The Statler Brothers’,” she read from the slip. “Their biography said that their style is called ‘country’, but I don’t know what that means.”

“It’s a style of music that originated in the more rural areas of America, the South in particular,” Dad explained. At our expressions of surprise, he laughed. “What? When I asked if there were other styles of music, I was just kidding!”

“Do you know anything about the…” I looked over to Rie, who showed me the group name. “…the Statler Brothers?”

“Not much,” he said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “I’ve heard a couple of their songs and liked them, but…” he shrugged. “I guess I’ve been spoiled rotten by doo-wop.”

“I think I understand,” I chuckled before looking over to my girl. “Well, I guess I’d have no problem giving them a listen. Do they have the music or do they need me to find it for them?”

“They have it already,” Rie replied, “and they’ve been practicing to see if the style would be a good fit for them.”

“Sounds good,” I replied. “We’ll have them let us know when they’re ready and we’ll see how they sound.”

“Okay,” she replied with a soft smile.

“Not to be crass,” Dad interjected, “but have you made any money from your efforts?”

“A little,” I admitted. “Yukio and his boys aren’t able to perform a whole lot due to being in school, but they’ve thrown some loose change my way.”

“Getting started in any field can be challenging,” Mom said encouragingly.

“At least I enjoy this challenge,” I replied with a grateful smile. “They’re pretty popular, so I think that if they keep this up after graduation everyone will be just fine.”

“And the other girls and I are grateful for everything you’ve done for us,” Rie added with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

It was hard to miss the smiles that Mom and Dad exchanged in response to Rie’s words.

* * *

“Thank you for having me over for dinner,” I said with a bow. “Everything was delicious, Mom; thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome,” she said as we briefly hugged. “And thank you for being a perfect gentleman.”

I averted my gaze in response to a sudden bout of awkwardness.

“Mom, please stop teasing him,” Rie complained as I felt her take my arm. “I’ll see you to the gate, Tomoya.”

“Behave yourself out there,” Dad warned.

“I will,” I promised.

He chuckled lightly. “Thank you, but I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Huh?” I looked over to my girl for an explanation, only to find her blushing madly. “Rie?”

“L-Let’s go.” She tugged on my arm, barely giving me enough time to bid her family farewell as she half-dragged me out into the yard. “That was so embarrassing…” she groaned as we reached the gate. “Why does he do that?”

I chuckled softly as I took her into my arms. “Probably ‘cause he cares. And maybe because he likes seeing his daughter happy.” I carefully tilted her head up so I could look into her eyes. “I know I do.”

Her nose wrinkled cutely as she returned my smile. Then, her face grew serious, and she looped her fingers behind my neck and carefully pulled me down to-

She quickly stopped and looked back toward the house, then nudged us along the sidewalk just enough to be out of sight of the front door of her house. She then fixed her gaze on me again and drew my head down to kiss once, twice, three times like always. I felt her tongue press against my lips, and I opened my mouth just enough for us to gently caress each other’s mouths. Eventually, though, I had to stop her, as the blood suddenly decided to rush south. “H-Hold up…” I stammered as I gently separated us. “You’re… We’re starting to light a fire here, and I don’t think I could put it out that easily. S-Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she replied her voice barely above a whisper. Then she pulled me down to whisper in my ear, “At least I know that you find me desirable.”

“You won’t get any argument there,” I agreed before cautiously giving her one more peck on the lips. “Good night, Rie.”

“Good night, my love,” she replied as she gazed into my eyes.

One eternity later, I headed home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Fortune and Fame**

I checked my watch as I waited in front of the train station for the girls. “They’re not here yet, but they’re not late either,” I murmured to myself. As I lowered my arm my gaze was drawn to the outfit that I’d chosen to wear for this trip; a tan suit that looked much like my old school uniform, only these had tan slacks as well, along with a blue necktie that, remarkably, matched the color of my hair.

I saw an unusual figure out of the corner of my eye; at first I thought it was one of the girls because of her reddish-brown hair, but the shades, hat, and mask told me that it was likely either a celebrity or some unfortunate soul who had fallen ill. Based on the way she was carrying herself it was likely the former so I gave her a respectful distance, though I couldn’t help but wonder what someone like her would be doing all the way out in Hikarizaka.

A few minutes later another one joined her, this one with purple locks that peeked out from under her cap, and I blinked at the realization that they were wearing the same ‘protective’ gear but I still opted to give them space.

Two more joined the group, same getup and all, though one had brown hair and one had red hair; maybe they were an idol group heading home from a performance the night prior? I didn’t know anything about currently operating idol groups, so…

I checked my watch again, then closed my eyes and angled my head one way, then the other to try to work out a knot that had somehow made its way into my neck during my morning.

“Tomoya?”

I opened my eyes to the familiar voice, only to find another mask, shades and cap-wearing figure before me, this one with blue hair…wait a minute… “Rie?”

“Good morning, Tomoya,” she muffled from behind the mask. “I’m sorry if I’m late.”

“You’re not, but…” I gestured to her. “What are you doing in that getup? Are you sick or something? You don’t have to go if that’s the case.”

The way her eyes crinkled told me she was smiling behind the getup. “No, silly,” she replied as she waved at the other mask-wearing girls to come over. “Reiko thought that we should protect our identities for this trip, and the rest of us thought it would be a good idea.”

My forehead wrinkled as I thought about her explanation… I had to chuckle. “Rie, I don’t think you’re well-known enough to have to worry about that kind of thing just yet,” I told her as the others joined us. “You’re pretty well-known around here, sure, but in Tokyo…?” I shrugged with an apologetic look. “Sorry, not just yet.”

“Then should we take these off?” I heard Amane muffle from behind her mask.

I chuckled again. “Right now, I think you’d draw more attention with the way you’re dressed.”

There were several sighs of relief as masks, caps, and shades were removed, though Reiko kept hers on. “Are you sure we’ll be okay?”

I regarded the tough redhead. “I think if anyone gives you trouble, you’re more than capable of handling it.”

“True.” She briefly flicked her gaze to the ground before meeting my eyes again. “All right, chief; we’ll do this your way.”

“I appreciate it,” I replied, trying not to smile as she removed her gear. “Let’s head in; the train will be here pretty soon.” I collected their hats and the like, then mentally kicked myself as I realized that they were still wearing their school uniforms, and as such I should have realized who they were. “Oh, well,” I sighed as I followed the quintet into the station.

“Did you say something, Nii-san?” I glanced ahead to find Amane looking over her shoulder at me.

“Just thinking out loud,” I mumbled. “Don’t mind me.”

“Okay,” she replied, giving me a soft smile before turning back to continue with the others.

The train arrived and we quickly boarded, eventually finding several seats close together, enough for the girls to sit; as was expected from our culture, I stood and held one of the many handholds mounted to the ceiling.

“You gonna be okay, chief?” Reiko asked, getting to her feet as the train started to move. “Here, go ahead and take my seat; it’s gonna be a long trip, and we’ll need you in tip-top shape when we get there.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” I replied, putting on my old ‘delinquent’ expression. From the looks on the girls’ faces, though, they weren’t buying it for a minute. At least none of them tried to argue the point.

* * *

I grunted in mild pain as we padded across the carpet toward the receptionist’s desk. Despite my earlier bluster, my feet hurt like hell. Like last time, I surprised the Multi-Colored Hair Cell-phone Girl – ‘Ichika’, if I remembered her name correctly. “Good afternoon, ma’am; I’m Okazaki Tomoya. I and the Angels of Japan have a 3 PM appointment with Hashimoto-san.”

She studied my girls with a critical eye as she reached for her phone and pushed a button. “Heya, boss; this is Ichika at Reception?”

I internally patted myself on the back for remembering my predator’s name.

“Fine, thanks. Hey, Okazaki Tomoya and his group are here for a 3 PM appointment? Cool, I’ll send them up.” She hung up the phone and looked up at me with an approving smile. “You’re a little early, but go ahead; do you remember how to get there?”

“I do,” I said, and I felt a pressure on my arm and figured that Rie must have seen the receptionist’s expression as well. “Thank you for your help.”

“No prob,” Ichika replied, giving my girlfriend a once-over that looked deliberate. “Have fun up there.”

I led the girls over to the elevator and punched the ‘up’ button. Once we were inside and the doors closed Rieko spoke. “She looked ready to jump your bones, chief; you okay?”

“Reiko!” Nao exclaimed in a shocked tone.

“I’m fine,” I said, raising the hand that Rie wasn’t holding. “Truth is, I half-expected her to do or say something like that; she was like that when I was here earlier in the week.”

“Is this going to be okay?” Rie asked worriedly. “I don’t like the idea of you being hit on by other girls.”

“Me neither,” I replied with a grin, drawing similar expressions from the others. “Besides, the way I see it…” I said while wrapping an arm sound my girl’s shoulders. “…I’m dating a beautiful woman while surrounded by other beautiful women. Life’s already great.”

Female grins turned to female blushes. “Th-Thanks, chief,” Reiko stuttered. “Damn, I’ve never been called ‘beautiful’ before.”

“Might be because of your mouth,” Amane suggested with a sly grin.

“Shut it,” the redheaded baritone humphed. “You’re probably right, though.”

We shared an appreciative chuckle as the car reached the fifteenth floor, and I gave Miss Miharu a wave as we made our way to Hashimoto Hiroshi’s office. After a polite knock on the door he appeared and showed us in. “Okazaki-san!” he greeted as the six of us entered the office. “And I count…” He gave what appeared to be a surprised smile at the sight of the girls. “Wonderful! This is all of them, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” I confirmed. “They’re all here, as promised.”

“Not that I ever doubted you, of course,” he said as he continued to study my group. “Oh, my; each one more beautiful than the next!”

“Th-Thank you, sir,” Rie squeaked as all of the Angels bowed, starting to fidget as they straightened again.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said contritely, though his smile remained. “It’s just that I’ve seen the videos of your performances, but to see you in person…” He shook his head with an expression of awe. “I think they’re going to look great in what I have in mind for them.”

I couldn’t help but smile as the Angels started to blush as they continued to fidget. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hashimoto put his phone to his ear. “Makoto? Hiroshi. Great, thanks. Listen, The Angels of Japan are here for their fitting and orientation. Right. Yeah. Great, see you in a bit.” I gave him my full attention as he hung up his phone. “That was Tanaka Makoto.” He stopped, blinking in what appeared to be pleased surprise. “I think that’s the first time I’ve pronounced her full name correctly.”

I exchanged amused glances with my group.

“Anyway, she’s in charge of orientation; while you and I will be talking business, she’ll be taking the girls to get fitted for their new dresses as well as give them a tour of our facilities.” He looked over at Rie’s group. “We want you to feel at home here – or, at least comfortable.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rie replied.

We talked about the weather until we were interrupted by a knock at the door. “That’s probably her,” Hashimoto said as he got up from his seat.

He opened the door to reveal a tall, slender young woman with short red hair – it looked natural, at least – and a dazzling smile. “Okazaki Tomoya?” she said as she entered the room and headed toward me. “Tanaka Makoto. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I replied with a bow, which she returned.

“Are these your Angels?” she asked, gesturing to the quintet.

“Those are they,” I replied, then grimaced. “Er, that’s them? They be those?”

“I get the idea,” she laughed as she exchanged a glance with Hashimoto, who smiled. “You’re so cute, Okazaki; you must be pretty new to management, tripping over your words like that.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said sheepishly as I glanced at Rie out of the corner of my eye; how embarrassing, making a fool of myself in front of the others.

“Oh god, please don’t call me ‘ma’am’,” she huffed. “I’m nowhere near old enough for that.”

“Sorry…” I trailed off, unsure of how to address her.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she gushed, grabbing onto my arm and causing me to flinch. “I get that you’re trying to be polite; please call me ‘Makoto’ since we’ll be working together from now on, okay?”

“Understood…Makoto,” I replied; fortunately, my time as a delinquent made it easier for me than most to adjust to calling others by first name. “Feel free to call me ‘Tomoya’, then.”

Makoto turned her attention to my girls, disaster apparently averted as her eyes widened. “Oh, my…” she breathed as she approached my group. “They’re like dolls.”

Said dolls started squirming again. “Th-Thank you, senpai,” Rie replied meekly under the older woman’s approving gaze.

“I wouldn’t count on any of them calling you by first name any time soon,” I told Makoto. “They’re still in school, and I’m sure you remember how hard it was to break the habit.”

“Like it was three years ago,” she replied absently, placing a finger under her chin as she continued to study my Angels. “Well, do you girls want to go for the fitting first or the tour?”

They looked at each other as though wanting someone else to answer. “We… We should do the fitting first,” Rie said timidly, setting my heart aflutter. “That way if we run out of time we won’t end up rushing the fitting.”

Makoto laughed, though it didn’t seem mocking. “We have plenty of time, but that’s fine,” she said as she headed toward the door. “If you would come with me, please.”

The girls started to follow Makoto, though one of them broke away to hurry over to me. “See you later, Tomoya,” Rie said happily as she gave me a squeeze. “Thank you so much.”

“Have fun,” I chuckled as I hugged her back, allowing myself to caress her blushing face as we separated, and she shrugged her shoulders with the cutest giggle before spinning to hurry after the others.

“Won’t you have a seat?” I heard Hashimoto offer.

After one last glance over my shoulder at my girls I headed over to his desk. “Thank you,” I said as I settled into one of the chairs.

“May I assume that you had the chance to go over the contract with your group?” he asked, tugging down the front of his jacket as he adjusted himself in his seat.

“I have,” I replied as I withdrew the contract from the inside of my coat. “I almost signed it at home but thought you’d prefer it if I signed it in your presence.”

He blinked with an expression of surprise. “Very impressive, Okazaki-san; I had forgotten to bring that up, but you’re right.” He gestured to the document in my hand. “Well, if everything checks out on your side…”

“Of course.” I pulled a pen from my jacket’s outside breast pocket, then looked around. “I’m sorry, may I use your desk?”

Another blink; it appeared that my meager knowledge of business etiquette was paying off. “Of course! By all means…” He cleared a small section of his desk, just in front of me and large enough for the paperwork.

I gave him a grateful smile and carefully lay the contract on the desk and flipped through it until I found the appropriate page. “Just a signature?” I asked for confirmation.

“Um, there’s a place for the date, if you would,” he said, leaning forward to tap the line next to the signature line.

I nodded as I lowered my pen to the page and began to sign; I’d never have thought that my name would ever amount to anything yet here I was, using it to bind an agreement between five girls who trusted me completely and a company who had chosen to risk trusting me. The idea was rather humbling, really.

“Great!” he exclaimed as I finished signing and handed the contract over to him. He quickly produced a pen and signed and dated the legal document, then held it up as though to study it. “Take a look and tell me if you see any problems,” he said, handing it back to me. I didn’t see any issues, so I returned it with a shake of my head. “Great!” He leaned back just enough to reach into one of his desk drawers and pulled out what appeared to be a stamp. “This company stamp will finalize the agreement between Okazaki Tomoya’s ‘The Angels of Japan’ and Go-Go Idols. Shall I proceed?”

I allowed myself a moment to think. Interestingly, I felt totally at peace with the idea; perhaps it was because I had done a similar thing with Yukio’s group, even though it had been a while ago. “Please, go ahead.”

He smiled and, with a flourish, brought the stamp down on the signature page, sealing the deal between my girls and the idol company. “Welcome to our family.”

I thought it odd that one would be welcomed into a family with a stamp, but everyone I’d met so far seemed pretty close so maybe it was akin to a family. In any case, I was still pretty new to the entertainment industry, so… “Thank you,” I said, standing to bow. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Ah!” he quickly stood and bowed as well. “And I, you.” He gestured toward the door, and we both started toward it. “Would you like a tour as well? I would be happy to show you around.”

“Thank you, but I could really use something to drink,” I said, lightly flapping my jacket. “Can you recommend any good places nearby? I’m awfully thirsty, but I don’t want to be too far from the girls.”

“We actually have an eatery here,” he told me with a broad smile as we approached the elevators. “Because we always have one group or another practicing here – and we don’t want to risk our stars going to a public place and getting potentially harassed – we have a contract of sorts with an international restaurant chain. Our employees still have to pay for their meals, but we get a decent discount.”

“That sounds cool,” I said, impressed with the idea.

We headed down to the first floor, and I gave Ichika a wide berth as we headed across the lobby to a door on the other side, which opened to a short hallway that led to a room full of tables and chairs; I could smell meat cooking from somewhere. “We can have food delivered to our offices for a nominal fee, but I like being able to stretch my legs and just get out of my office for bit,” he said as we headed over to where a young blue-haired woman stood waiting behind a counter. “Good afternoon, Yuki-san.”

“Good afternoon, Hashimoto-san,” she replied with a bow. “How has your day been?”

We each ordered drinks – him a coffee and me a green tea – before claiming one of the smaller tables. “I hope I’m not rude to ask so soon and so suddenly, but… Are you in a relationship with your lead singer?”

“Rie?” I placed my sweaty cup down on my napkin to give him my full attention. “Yes sir, we are. We’ve been together for about…” I trailed off as my mind went back to the fateful picnic at the park, where Rie and I ‘bonded’ through our mutual gaze. “A-About a year now.”

“How nice!” He gave me an apologetic smile. “Listen, I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but you know that idols are typically not allowed to have romantic relationships, right?”

I did remember hearing something about that, but I guess I’d forgotten in all the excitement. Yukio’s relationship with his number-one fan never posed a problem, though. “I’ve heard that, sir; is that going to be a problem? I don’t remember that being in our contract.”

“It…isn’t,” he acknowledged. “Most companies have it as part of their contract that their idols cannot have any relationships because it will damage their ‘pure’ image. Off-contract, it’s believed that knowing that an idol is in a relationship will cause them to lose popularity with the other sex because fans fantasize about dating their favorite idol.”

“Oh…”

He rested his hands on the table and his chin on his folded hands to fix me with his gaze. “We don’t have anything like that in your contract because your Angels are…an experiment of sorts.”

“An experiment?”

“Your girls are unlike anything Japan has seen in a long time, if ever. This could be a new era for the idol industry, but I’m sure that there are those who would resist such a change, both from other companies as well as the fans.”

“Hm.” I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms, my eyes losing focus as I tried to understand the implications of his words.

“I won’t even suggest that the two of you break up, but perhaps if you could…” He sat back in his seat and looked up as though searching for the right words. “…be discreet in your relationship, perhaps let the fans see it develop over time…?”

“Hm.” Realizing that I wouldn’t come to a solution easily, I uncrossed my arms and sat up again. “I’ll see what I can do; I don’t want to cause trouble for your company, but I can’t lie to people, either. Not in good conscience, at least.”

“I understand,” he replied with a nod. “Perhaps we’ll keep your relationship secret...” He gave me a lopsided smile. “…until you’ve paid for the dresses.”

Crap; I’d forgotten about that. “F-Fair enough.”

I blinked out of my train of thought as the door to the lobby opened, and Makoto entered, followed by the girls. “There you are!” she chirped. “Ichika said you’d come in here!”

“Here we are!” Hashimoto replied, spreading his hands. Then he quickly checked his watch. “I assume you’re done with the fitting and have started the tour?”

“Yes, sir,” she said as the group approached our table. “It went a lot more quickly than I thought it would.” She looked back at my Angels. “These girls have perfect figures, so it was easy.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the blush that appeared on Rie’s face. Well, the others’ as well.

“We were about to start the tour when they asked about getting something to drink,” she continued, looking back to her coworker, “so I brought them down here, and now here we are!”

“Here you are, indeed,” he echoed. “Well, don’t mind us; go ahead and get something tasty.”

I patted my pocket, checking for my wallet before getting up from-

“Where are you going?”

I paused at Hashimoto’s question. “Sorry about that, sir,” I said as I sat back down. “I didn’t mean to be rude. Would you excuse me for a minute so I can go pay for their drinks?”

He blinked with an unreadable expression. “You don’t make them pay their own way, huh?”

“No, sir,” I replied, puzzled. “I see them as my responsibility, especially since they’re still in high school, so…” I shrugged awkwardly; I’d never been asked about that, so I wasn’t sure how to explain myself.

“I think I understand,” he said, reaching across the table to pat my shoulder. “Don’t ever change, Okazaki; okay?”

“Um, yes sir,” I said, still puzzled.

* * *

After a brief yet exciting tour, we left the building feeling exhausted. “I’m glad that’s done,” Reiko sighed, starching her arms over her head. “All that talking wore me out.”

“You’ve always had a way with words, haven’t you?” Amane teased, giving her kouhai a nudge in the ribs.

“Yeah; I hate ‘em,” the redhead huffed. “Well, other than singing ‘em.”

I felt a gentle pressure on my arm and smiled down at my girl as she took my arm. “Are you okay, Tomoya?”

“I’m pretty tired, to be honest,” I replied…well, honestly as I rubbed my face with my free hand. “Yours is the second group I’ve signed up, so I’m still not used to the process. It’s a little draining.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Hashimoto-san seems like a nice man,” Nao remarked as we rounded a corner.

“I-I agree,” Kana added, somewhat surprising me; it was unusual to hear her voice outside of singing. “I got the feeling that he was…genuine.”

“Ah! Excuse me?” We all jumped at the suddenness of the voice, and I looked to find an older man, probably in his mid- to late twenties, with light-blue hair, green eyes, a camera, and a hopeful expression. “You’re the Angels of Japan, aren’t you?”

“They are,” I replied, stepping between the man and my girls and putting on my old ‘delinquent’ expression to dissuade him from trying anything funny. “I’m their manager, Okazaki Tomoya; may I help you?”

My efforts must have worked, because he paled appropriately. “I’m not a stalker or anything like that, I promise!”

“Yeah, those who say they’re not stalkers usually are,” Reiko growled over my shoulder, and in my mind’s eye I could see her flexing her fingers.

“I’ll handle this,” I murmured to my baritone before returning my attention to the man. “What do you want?”

He lifted up his camera. “I was hoping you’d allow me to have my picture taken with your group, sir.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re beautiful and-and have great voices, and I love their style of music, and I…” He took a deep breath. “I’d just like a picture with them before they become famous, that’s all.”

My eyebrow jumped, and I looked over my shoulder at my girls. “Would you all be okay with this?”

Understandably, they gave each other concerned looks. “Well…” Amane mused. “If Nii-san’s here, then…”

“Besides, if he tries anything funny, I’ll pound ‘em,” Reiko said, flexing her fingers just as I had imagined.

“It might be fun,” Nao offered as Kana nodded her agreement. “I think it should be up to Rie, though; she’s our leader, after all.”

“You okay with it?” I asked my girl. “Reiko and Amane will be right here, and I won’t be far away.”

“O-Okay…”

I watched her a moment longer to give her a chance to change her mind before fixing my gaze on the man. “You have their permission, but I’m going to tell you something first.” I stopped up to him and gave him a glare. “You touch them in any way they don’t like and I will end you. Got it?” I hated threatening people, but I felt what could have been a paternal protectiveness when it came to my singers.

He nodded wide-eyed and wordlessly, and I held out my hand to receive his camera. He then made his way nervously over to my group. “I…It’s an honor to meet you all,” he said with a deep bow. “I am Fumio Fuji. Whatever you are comfortable with, I will be grateful.”

I felt another twinge of guilt over threatening the man-er, Fuji.

“We don’t have a group pose yet, do we?” Nao giggled.

“We’re not a J-Pop group,” Amane pointed out “We’re not bound by those rules, or whatever they are.”

“Why don’t we stand in our usual line-up and see what we can do with that?” Rie suggested.

A few minutes later Fuji looked like he was in heaven, standing in the middle of my group with his arms crossed and a confident smile on his face. Rie, Nao, and Reiko stood on his right side and Amane and Kana stood on his left side. All of my girls had their arms stretched out as though they were presenting Fuji to the imaginary audience, and I couldn’t suppress my smile as I raised the camera and snapped several photos.

“Thank you so much!” he gushed when we were done. “And just for the sake of openness and honesty; I will not put these on the internet or sell them or anything like that.” He bowed deeply. “Thank you, Okazaki-san, and thank you, Angels of Japan.”

“Hey, you’re the ‘Angels of Japan’?” I looked to find several curious expressions pointed our way. “Oh my gosh!” a girl squealed. “It is them!”

“Are you their manager?” I heard another female voice say. “What a hunk!”

As the awestruck crowd started to increase in size, it occurred to me that the girls should have hidden their identities after all. Me too, for that matter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Branching Out**

I gave the sleeves of my suit jacket a tug as I entered the school grounds; for some reason they kept sliding up and catching on the ends of my shirtsleeves. I’d heard of it being a problem among businessmen but had never given it much thought before. “Oh, well…” I grunted, giving them one last tug each before reaching out to open the door to the school’s office.

“Good afternoon, Joke-azaki-san,” a familiar face greeted from behind the front desk.

“Good afternoon, Himitsu-san,” I returned with a grin. “I’ve been wondering when you’d come up with a nickname for me.”

“It took me a while,” she admitted as she turned sideways and studied her nails. “But, you know; we adults have enough important things to do that we don’t usually have time to think up childish names.” I noticed that she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye as she finished her response.

“Ouch!” I chuckled, feigning a wince. “Nice one!”

She chuckled as well as she turned to face me fully. “You’re checking in as usual?”

“As usual,” I confirmed, still feeling the warmth from our pleasant interaction. “Am I free to pass, warden?”

“Get out of here, you charmer,” she chuckled again while waving a hand at me. “And don’t hit on too many of our students.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I lifted a hand in farewell with a smile as I left the office. Himura knew about my relationship with the head of the Chorus Club, so I figured that she just liked teasing me since she herself had referred to me as ‘handsome’ the first time I had checked in as the Chorus Club advisor. Being one of the office staff she likely knew about my former status as a delinquent, so she might have been happy to see the change in my disposition.

“You there!”

I froze mid-step, and for some reason the image of a girl with purple hair tied in twintails flashed through my mind. Instead I found a girl with long, silver hair held back by a black headband. She stood with one fist in her hip and the index finger of her other hand pointed directly at me, reinforcing the image of the purple-twintails girl. She looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place her, other than being a student at the school, obviously. “Hi. Are you talking to me?”

She lowered her arm and marched up to me with a look of determination. “May I ask why you are on school property? You’re obviously not a student, and I know you’re not a member of the staff or faculty.”

“No, I’m not,” I admitted, taking a step back; she was well within my personal space as far as I was concerned. “I’m the advisor to the Chorus Club.”

She blinked and took a step toward me to peer into my face, and I had to resist the urge to step away again; I didn’t want her chasing me all over the courtyard, which I could easily see happening. She then stepped back again and crossed her arms, apparently satisfied. “Okay, I believe you.” Her posture shifted ever so slightly before she spoke again. “This might sound weird, but…you actually look kinda familiar.”

“I’m Okazaki Tomoya, if that helps,” I offered. “I graduated last…” I trailed off as a faint memory tried to assert itself. “Wait… Weren’t you the one who beat up those delinquents from the industrial high school early last year?”

“Ugh, you remember that?” she huffed, her arms falling to her sides as she looked away. “I really wanted to get away from that, you know.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled by her behavior. “Get away from what?”

She sighed in what appeared to be frustration as she glanced at me several times. “From fighting.”

“For someone who hates fighting, you sure seemed to be good at it,” I pointed out. Then it hit me…so to speak. “Hey, would you be willing to teach me?”

“Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms again.

“So I can better protect my clients. I can hold my own pretty well, but…” I gestured to her. “…you’re a monster.”

“Monster…” Her gaze fell along with her expression.

“Wait, I’m sorry,” I panicked, waving my hands. “Poor choice of words. I don’t think you look like a monster or anything; you’re actually quite pretty. I just mean that you must be unbeatable in combat, so I’d like to learn from you if I could.”

“Pretty…?”

“Miss?” I wasn’t sure what to say at that point; had I somehow reduced her to single-word sentences?

She suddenly stepped up to me, well inside my personal space again. “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

I was starting to wonder how we’d gotten so far off-topic, but the subject was apparently very important to her, so… “Um, sure,” I managed lamely. “You have pretty blue eyes, and your silver hair is really quite….lovely.”

“Lovely…”

“Please understand that I’m really uncomfortable answering your question,” I told her. “I’m in a relationship already, so to talk about another woman’s beauty is…” I scratched the back of my head with an apologetic expression, hoping she’d understand.

“I get it,” she replied, stepping back yet again. “Sorry about that. My… My name’s Sakagami Tomoyo; I’m the student body president.” She gave me a once-over. “Well, you look like you have a pretty good build.”

“I used to be in basketball, if that helps,” I offered. “Thanks, though.”

“Hm.” She studied me a little longer, then sighed. “Listen, I really don’t have a lot of time to teach you anything, but I guess I could give you a few pointers here and there, if that’d work.”

“I’d be grateful for any assistance you could give, Sakagami-san,” I replied with a warm smile.

She gave me a curious look. “L-Let me walk you to your club room.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t certain of the reason for her sudden offer, but I had no reason to turn her down.

As we headed over to the old school building she asked, “Did you really graduate last year?”

“I did,” I replied easily as I reached for one of the building’s exterior doors. “Why do you ask?”

She snorted. “Do you know how you sound?”

“What do you mean?”

She gestured to me as we approached the stairs. “You’re what, nineteen? Maybe twenty, and here you sound like a middle-aged businessman.”

“I do?” I’d never really thought about it, so I gave myself the chance to think back. “I guess it could be because Koumura-sensei tutored me pretty heavily when I was in my self-imposed isolation.”

“There! You’re doing it again!” she said while giving me a light shove, which I assumed was intended to be teasing. “You don’t sound like an old man or anything, just…I dunno, older.”

“Thanks, I think.” I really hadn’t thought about that aspect of my growth. “It may have been due to my time in the world of business,” I offered.

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” she said with raised hands. “It actually makes you sound pretty hot.” I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but before I could say anything she continued. “What do you do for a living, anyway? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“Not at all,” As we stopped by the door to the Chorus Club room I put my previous concern to the side as I thought about how to best answer her question. “I guess the best way to answer that would be to say that I’m the manager of two musical groups, one of which I signed just recently.”

“Hey, that’s cool,” she replied, clearly impressed. “Which groups? I might have heard of them.”

“The ‘Lords of Doo-Wop’ and the ‘Angels of Japan’,” I told her. “They both consist of students from this school. From the Chorus Club specifically, as a matter of fact.” Remembering my reason for being at the school I quickly glanced into the club room through the small window in the door; fortunately there were only a few students present. “Anyway, I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to get in there to advise.” I took as deep a bow as her proximity to me would allow. “It was nice meeting you, Sakagami-san, and I look forward to working with you.”

“Working with me?” she blinked, and I couldn’t help but notice that her cheeks tinted ever so slightly.

“On my fighting ability,” I reminded her as I reached for the door.

“Oh. R-Right.”

“I really appreciate it. Have a great day.” With that, I slid open the door and entered the club-

“Wait!” I flinched to a stop, surprised at the suddenness of her voice, and looked back to find her fidgeting while looking at me anxiously; how odd. “May…May I come with you?” she asked, sounding unsure of herself.

I briefly considered her request. “I don’t see a problem with it. We’ll have to make sure that Rie is okay with it; she’s the club president, after all.”

“But aren’t you the advisor?” she asked as we entered the club room.

“Yes, but as far as I’m concerned it’s her club,” I informed my new guest. “For what it’s worth, though, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

The club members trickled in, all of them stammering various greetings when they saw their student body president. Considering her position and prior show of strength it made sense. Eventually Rie and Amane entered the room, their eyes widening at the sight of their unexpected guest. “S-Sakagami-san!” Rie squeaked with a bow. “Wh-What a pleasant surprise! Welcome t-to the Chorus Club!”

“Thanks,” Sakagami replied with an easy smile, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.

“I hope I don’t sound rude, but… Wh-Why are you here?”

The silver-haired girl jerked a thumb at me. “I caught this guy sneaking onto the school grounds and ended up following him here.”

“Sneaking?” Rie gave me a worried look. “Tomoya?”

“She thought I didn’t belong here,” I explained, glancing over at Sakagami for confirmation; at her nod I continued. “We’d never met until today.”

“Everything’s cool now, though,” our guest followed up. “Hey, do you mind if I hang out here for a bit? I’ve never seen your club in action.” She narrowed her eyes at my girl. “You are the prez, right?”

“I-I am!” Rie squeaked. “We…We would be honored to have you here, Sakagami-senpai.”

“I’m the same year as you,” the silver-haired girl chuckled. “I’d have to be, right? We’re both third-years. Anyway, go ahead and act like I’m not here; it’s cool.”

My girl looked like she was about to throw up from nerves when a red-haired boy saved her. “N-Nishina-senpai!”

“What is it, Takanami?” Rie asked the first-year, clearly grateful for the distraction. “Oh, are you ready to show us your song?”

He nodded emphatically, if anxiously. “The guys and I are ready, and-oh! We got a guitarist.”

“That’s wonderful!” she replied, clapping. “Well, whenever you’re ready.”

“Just give us a minute, senpai!” Takanami exclaimed before hurrying to the section of the room set up specifically for performances, where the rest of his group stood, waiting. A minute or so later his group stood before the microphones. “Are these on?” he asked, tapping experimentally on his microphone.

“Whoa, don’t do that!” Sato panicked from behind the soundboard, causing the lead singer to quickly jerk his hand back. “It’s not good for the equipment. Or our ears.”

“S-Sorry, senpai,” the first-year stammered. The quartet then completed one final microphone test before Takanami nodded to a male student seated in a nearby chair, who began to strum the instrument resting on his bent leg.

A bouncy, happy-sounding tune greeted us, and Takanami’s group began to sing:

_“*I'll go to my grave lovin' you, lovin' you  
_ _I'd give all I've saved lovin' you, lovin' you  
_ _And should, and should I live again  
_ _Even then, it won't end  
_ _For I'll go to my grave lovin' you, lovin' you…*”_

My eyebrows jumped in approval, and I leaned over to confer quietly with my girl. “So that’s the Statler Brothers song, huh? Very impressive.”

“No kidding,” she said, clapping to the beat. “Takanaim’s ‘Ls’ and ‘Rs’ need some work, but they sound amazing otherwise.”

I nodded my agreement as I returned my attention to the performers.

_“*And when life calls us both above  
_ _Honey, you'll know that you'd been loved  
_ _For I'll go to my grave lovin' you, lovin' you…*”_

When the song was over I joined the rest of the club in cheering for the quartet. “Well done!” I called out as the applause died down. “In particular, you all handled the ‘echoes’ really well; I’ve seen those trip singers up pretty frequently. The only criticism that Rie…excuse me, the club president and I could come up with is your enunciation.”

“Sir?” Takanami understandably looked puzzled.

“He’s talking about how you pronounce your words,” Rie clarified for me. “You sound like you’re still struggling with your ‘Ls’ and ‘Rs’, but otherwise you all sound fantastic!” She looked over at me, so I nodded my agreement.

“Thank you, senpai! Thank you, sensei!” Takanami exclaimed as he and his group bowed repeatedly.

“‘Sensei’?” I echoed, more than a little surprised by the title.

“Club advisors are usually called ‘sensei’,” Sakagami called from where she still leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. “You can ask him to call you something else if you want, but he is doing the right thing.”

“Got it,” I replied, giving the student body president a thumbs-up. Turning back to the quartet I said, “Okay, if you’re more comfortable calling me ‘sensei’, then I won’t object.”

“Thank you very much, sensei,” the first-year replied with another bow.

“By the way, Takanami; I don’t think you’ve introduced your group to Tomo-er, Okazaki-sensei,” Rie noted.

“That’s true,” I mused; I’d been so caught up in their singing that the thought hadn’t occurred to me. “Why don’t you start with your bass? I was really impressed with his delivery. Then you can work your way up the ranges.”

Takanami nodded, then looked to his right. “You’re up, Hattori.”

“Right,” a voice rumbled, and my jaw dropped in surprise as the shortest of the performers bowed politely. “Hattori Jiro. I’m the bass, and before you ask; yes, I’m Reiko nee-san’s younger brother.”

“Holy shit,” someone murmured, and I found myself hard-pressed to disagree.

Not unexpectedly, Gouda was on his feet in an instant. “WHOA!” he bellowed, nearly blowing over several of his fellow club members. “That’s amazing! How did you end up with such a deep voice for such a little guy?”

Jiro flinched but held his senior’s gaze. “Mom’s side of the family, senpai.” Someone snorted, and he quickly added, “My granddad was short and had a really deep voice, too. I understand his dad – my great-granddad, that is – was the same.”

“Amazing…” Gouda breathed, his eyes still on his much-smaller counterpart.

“Maeda Shohei; baritone,” the next boy in line announced, thankfully distracting everyone from the noticeably-shorter bass.

“Nice to meet you both,” I greeted with a nod; I would have liked to greet each of them separately, but Gouda’s outburst had obliterated any opportunity for me to do so. So I looked to the lead singer. “And you’re Takanami…?”

“Takanami Souta, sensei,” the red-headed youth greeted with a bow. “It’s an honor to sing for you.”

“The honor is mine,” I replied, and I truly meant it. “And who’s your tenor?”

“Chiba Yamato, sensei,” the boy next to Takanami also greeted with a bow, and I could easily tell from his voice why he was their tenor. “It’s an honor to meet the creator of the Lords of Doo-Wop and the Angels of Japan.”

I sent Rie an awkward smile before replying. “Those groups created themselves, Chiba; I just found people who would pay them to sing. Thank you for your kind words, though.”

“You’re-” Apparently the tenor couldn’t finish his response, because he simply bowed again.

“And who’s your guitarist?” I asked the youth with the instrument in his lap. “I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“And he’s not wearing his uniform in compliance with school regulations,” Sakagami noted, and she appeared in my periphery a moment later as she strode up to the student. “Stand up; we need to get you squared away.”

“P-President…” I could hear Takanami stammer. “W-Wait…”

“When on school property you are required to wear the jacket in the proper way,” Tomoyo insisted as she reached for the boy. “Now stand up, or I will stand you up.”

“P-Please…” The guitarist showed panicked eyes as he was forced to his feet by the much-stronger girl.

“What the…?” Sakagami’s eyes widened at the sight of the clothes that the school jacket had been covering. “I knew you weren’t from this school!”

“Sakagami-san… What wrong?” Rie asked as she and I moved to where we could better see what was going on. “Oh, no…”

“I just wanted to play guitar, honest!” the boy pleaded; underneath his coat was the uniform for the local industrial high school.

“Get off my campus,” Sakagami ordered as she removed the makeshift disguise and started to drag the intruder toward the door to the hallway.

“Sakagami-san; wait, please!” Rie begged as she followed the pair to the door. “Let’s hear him out!”

“After he’s off school grounds,” Sakagami replied smartly over her shoulder.

Finally recovering from my shock, I decided it was time to step in. “Sakagami.”

Fortunately, my tone of voice was enough to stop her. “Wh-What?”

I made sure to fix my gaze on hers as I approached the trio. “I’ll take care of this one,” I said as I reached for the youth.

She visibly stiffened as she looked back at me. “What do you mean? This guy’s trespassing.”

“I understand that,” I said, my gaze still locked with hers as I gently took hold of her hand, the one holding the ‘intruder’. “But I’m here, and I’ll be responsible for him. Will that be okay? Can you accept that?”

I felt her shudder just before she released the boy. “Fine. But I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Fair enough,” I acknowledged with a smile. “Thank you, Miss Student Body President.”

“S-Sure,” she replied while holding the hand that I’d touched in the other.

Potential disaster averted, I shifted my smile to my guest as I gestured to the hallway. “Let’s talk.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Sensei?” I looked over my shoulder to find Takanami carefully holding the guitar. “What should we do with this?”

I looked back to my guest. “Is that yours or the school’s?”

“Mine, sir,” he nearly squeaked.

"Hold on to it,” I told Takanami. “And all of you keep practicing. We’ll be back shortly.”

* * *

I could feel the student body president’s gaze on my back as I walked side-by-side with the industrial high-school student. “What’s your name?” I asked him as we descended the stairs; I didn’t want to keep calling him ‘you’ or thinking of him as ‘the industrial high-school student’ in my internal narration.

“Haku Sora, sensei,” he replied, and I noticed that he kept glancing over his shoulder at Sakagami. “You’re not going to report me to the police, are you?”

“For the time being, just come with me,” I told him; I wasn’t sure if my idea would bear fruit, so I didn’t want to tell him and get his hopes up needlessly.

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Why did you feel the need to sneak onto Hikarizaka’s school grounds?” I asked. “Doesn’t your school have any kind of music program? I’m sure you have clubs.” I snorted. “It wouldn’t be a Japanese school otherwise.”

“We…have music, yes, but everyone just fools around, and there’s no music club of any kind…sir.”

“Gotcha.” After that, we traveled wordlessly as I led the two of them out of the old school building and across the courtyard to the school office. I could almost feel his nervousness as I opened the door to the school office and headed in. After confirming that he and the student body president had followed me in, I headed over to a familiar face. “Himura-san; is there any way we can get Haku here a grounds pass or something like that?”

She blinked in curiosity at the visiting student. “For what purpose?”

I gestured to my charge. “He was doing an amazing job playing guitar for one of the Chorus Club groups, but I didn’t realize that he’s not a student here, so I was hoping that we could make some kind of…” I shrugged with my hands. “…accommodation.”

Himura shifted her gaze to me with a look of surprise. “So this is Businessman Okazaki, huh?” A smile crept across her face. “I like it. Well, I’m sure we could come up with something, but he’d be your responsibility while on campus; you understand that, right?”

“I figured.” I wasn’t a stranger to responsibility, and her words made sense. “I’ll be responsible for him, then.”

“Just a moment.” She got up from her desk and headed into the principal’s office. About a minute or so later, she returned with a small, laminated piece of paper attached to a clip. “He’ll need to wear this while-”

“Wait a second, please,” I interrupted with a raised hand. Then I looked over my shoulder at Haku. “Come here; she needs to show you what you need to do.”

“S-Sir?”

I angled my head with a look of mild disappointment. “You’re the one who wants to be part of the Chorus Club here, right?” At his nod I continued. “Well, you’re going to need this to enter the school ground without being harassed; this is your responsibility.”

He stared wide-eyed at me for a moment before cautiously approaching Himura. “Wh-What do I need to do, ma’am?”

I looked back to find her also staring at me before she blinked. “Y-You’ll just need to have this on whenever you enter school grounds. This is basically a pass, letting everyone know that you’re a guest. Just clip it to one of your shirt or jacket pockets where it can be seen.”

“Understood, ma’am,” he replied as he accepted the badge from her. “Thank you.”

I nudged Haku gently to get his attention. “Ask her if there’s anything else you might need to know or keep in mind; gate schedules and things like that.”

He swallowed hard before turning his attention back to the office worker, though he glanced at me as he spoke. “I-Is there anything else I need to know? Like, wh-when the gates open or when the clubs actually start?”

I nodded approvingly as Himura gave him the requested information; while he likely already knew when club started, it was good to ask officially.

We finished, and I sent Haku ahead back to the club room, while Sakagami hung back with me. “How did you do that?” she asked.

“Do what?”

She gestured ahead to where Haku had just passed through the doors to the old school building. “I was ready to literally throw him off school grounds, but you managed…” she waved a hand at me. “…whatever you did.”

I shrugged. “I simply considered the reason why he was trespassing in the first place and sought a solution that would satisfy all involved; him and the school.”

She shook her head with a snort as we entered the door and headed for the stairs. “And there he goes with the businessman talk again.”

I glanced over at her with an apologetic look. “I regret if it both-”

SLAM

I blinked at the arm that had suddenly jumped into my path, its hand nearly embedded in the wall, and my eyes traveled along the steel cables of her arm to an intense expression. “S-Sakagami…?”

“It’s actually kind of a…a turn-on,” she replied – admitted, maybe? – as she fixed her gaze on me, her cheeks nearly aflame. “Are you free on Saturday?”

“S-Saturday?” My brain tried to push past my frazzled nerves to figure out how to answer her question. Fortunately, I didn’t have to work too hard. “I’m afraid I’m not available,” I told her. “I have a meeting that day to set up one of my groups for a performance, and I don’t know how long that’ll take.”

“Damn.” She withdrew her arm, though she kept her gaze firmly locked on mine. “Makes sense.”

Though part of me wanted to remind her of the school rules regarding language, something more pressing needed to be addressed. “Forgive me if I’m misunderstanding the intent behind your question, but I’m feeling compelled to remind you that I’m already in a relationship.”

She clicked her tongue as she glanced to the side, her weight shifting from one foot to the other. “You did tell me that. Sorry.”

_“Okazaki Tomoya; you have a call waiting at the main office. Okazaki Tomoya; you have a call at the main office.”_

We both looked toward the wall-mounted speaker before looking back to each other. “I’m sure she heard the message, but I’ll let the Chorus Club prez know about this,” she told me before turning to dash down the hallway.

“Thanks,” I called to her retreating form before heading back to the office. Once there, I accepted the phone from Himura with an apologetic look, to which she simply smiled. “This is Okazaki,” I greeted, wondering who would be calling me at the school.

_“Okazaki-san? It’s Hiroshi.”_

“I’m sorry?”

A chuckle. _“Right, sorry; we’re not on a first-name basis yet. I should probably fix that. This is Hashimoto.”_

I couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “Ah, Hashimoto! Sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice at first. Well, it’s good to hear from you, but what can I do for you? This is a surprise, albeit a pleasant one.”

_“Thanks. Look, I’ll get right to the point; can we meet tomorrow morning?”_

“Tomorrow?” As we made the arrangements to meet I couldn’t help but notice that he was purposely avoiding any details about the subject he wished to discuss, which worried me greatly; what had happened to worry him so? “Guess I’ll find out tomorrow,” I muttered as I handed the phone back to Himura.

“Is everything okay?” she asked with her own expression of concern.

I gave her a smile of resignation as I shrugged helplessly. “I certainly hope so. I’ll find out tomorrow, in any case. Thank you.” With that, I headed back to the clubroom, feeling an uneasy weight on my shoulders.


End file.
